Chapter 19

“Think again, idiot. I’ve already suffered enough from good-looking men — I’m not falling for that again.”

Lin Wanting didn’t let Gu Qingqing bring up the matter any further. It had been hard enough to deal with Qiao Yilan, and now that it was settled, she wanted it left in the past.

But Xia Xue wasn’t behaving herself. She insisted on coming to the Lin residence to borrow money from Lin Wanting. This time, Gu Qingqing didn’t dare let her in — both mother and daughter were still furious.

“My lady isn’t seeing anyone. You should leave!”

Xia Xue was anxious outside the gate. Even a servant dared to turn her away — did they really think she was that easy to bully?

“You don’t get to decide. If Lin Wanting won’t come out, I’ll just wait here until she does.”

Gu Qingqing had no choice but to go tell Lin Wanting that Xia Xue was still at the door refusing to leave. Lin Wanting really didn’t want to deal with her — the woman clung like a piece of sticky plaster. Hadn’t she already gotten what she wanted, marrying Wang Xing?

Back then, Xia Xue had even planned to secretly sabotage Lin Haifeng, but her own family went bankrupt first, and the matter was dropped.

She banged on the gate with all her might, staring at her own hands — in just one month, they had become darker and rougher.

“Who is it? Qingqing?” Qiao Yilan, who had been napping, was woken up. She’d only just fallen asleep, and now she was grumpy.

“Madam, it’s Xia Xue!”

“She’s got the nerve to come here? Tell her to go! If she won’t leave, kick her out! Shameless!” Qiao Yilan had been completely disheartened with Xia Xue after the last incident.

Lin Haifeng hadn’t been home for several days. Today he’d decided to come back, lest the mother and daughter cause trouble at the factory.

The two of them had been quiet lately, which made him uneasy — it felt like they were brewing up an even bigger storm.

“Xia Xue? Why are you here?” Lin Haifeng felt that Xia Xue’s father had it bad enough, so he was still relatively polite to her.

“Uncle Lin, my dad is truly at the end of his rope. Could you lend us some money to tide us over? We can’t even afford food right now. My dad has to return to the countryside — but it must be as a retiree going home, not as a bankrupt man.”

Hearing this, Lin Haifeng’s resolve began to waver.

“Young lady, bad news — Master is outside talking to Xia Xue. She’s acting all pitiful, and I’m afraid he’s going to agree to help her!”

Lin Wanting jumped up in an instant. He didn’t care about his own daughter’s problems but felt sympathy for Xia Xue?

The door opened and Lin Wanting came out, hooking her arm through Lin Haifeng’s. “Daddy, since you’re feeling so generous, I’ve got my eye on a house — why don’t you buy it for me?”

At the word “house,” Lin Haifeng snapped out of it, pushed Lin Wanting aside, and went inside. Xia Xue was still calling, “Uncle Lin! Uncle Lin!”

“Xia Xue, shut up already!” Lin Wanting folded her arms, sizing her up. In just a few days, she really did look much more worn out.

“Lin Wanting, did you set me up to marry Wang Xing? Just so you could watch me suffer?”

“Oh please. Weren’t you the one rushing to marry him? Of course I’m going to watch the show. At least you still have your cheap little life.”

“You—” Xia Xue raised her hand to slap her, but Lin Wanting blocked her with force. Lately she’d gotten strong — just a little effort sent Xia Xue stumbling back, nearly hurting herself.

“Xia Xue, take care of yourself. Or your ending will be even worse.”

Lin Wanting turned and shut the door, then told Gu Qingqing to release the two large wolfhounds. Xia Xue bolted — she was terrified of big dogs.

“Alright, alright! Don’t bite me!”

Lin Haifeng returned to his study and closed the door. Ever since the illegitimate child incident, Qiao Yilan had been dressing to the nines every day — not to attract him, but because she had realized something:

After marriage and children, a woman often loses herself for the sake of family, becoming worn and faded. But no one waits for you in the same place forever. Only by becoming your original self again and living for yourself will everything start to go your way.

For the first time, Qiao Yilan knocked on the study door. Since Lin Haifeng was home, she wanted to know the combination to the safe — she needed to see how much they actually had, so she’d have a clear idea. If the man’s heart strayed, so be it — as long as the money was still there.

“Didn’t I say no one’s allowed in here?”

“And didn’t I say you were supposed to love only me forever? What happened? Now there’s an illegitimate child, and I still don’t even know the safe’s password. I want to see our assets!”

Lin Haifeng panicked. The safe only contained a letter to his wife and daughter — all the money and paintings were kept at a remote villa.

“Not today. I’ll show you another day.”

He planned to bring some cash from the villa to put in the safe and claim the rest was tied up in factory expenses. But he absolutely couldn’t let Qiao Yilan know the safe was currently empty.

“Fine. But tell me the exact day!”

“In two days. I’ll show you then. Today, Xia Xue came begging for money at the door and I told her we had none — it’s best not to open it now. Someone might get ideas.”

Hearing that, Qiao Yilan thought it made sense. Two days wouldn’t hurt, so she went back to her room.

This was Jin Chengyu’s first blind date since coming back — and it left a terrible impression. Jin Guanzhong had lined up several more. He couldn’t believe his son hadn’t liked a single one.

“Dad, I’ve been back half a month. I can’t spend all my time on blind dates. Once I finish meeting these few, that’s it!”

Jin Guanzhong was anxious — his hair had noticeably grayed in just the past few days. When Jin Chengyu was a child, someone had read his fortune and said he would marry late and have difficulty having children.

And the “difficulty” had been medically confirmed — he’d nearly drowned as a child and was lucky to survive at all.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You plan to stay single for life? People will laugh at us!”

The old man dreaded losing face. Every New Year, people asked why Jin Chengyu still wasn’t married. He had developed an almost allergic reaction to the question, changing the subject immediately whenever it came up.

“Dad, don’t get upset. If my marriage could cure your illness, I’d get married right this second!”

“I’m serious — just finish meeting these few girls first.”

The next day, Lin Wanting went on another shopping spree. She had returned most of the clothes she’d bought a few days ago — one of those buy-now-regret-later situations.

Then she felt she had nothing to wear again, and going out shopping always improved her mood.

Naturally, Gu Qingqing followed as the bag carrier, perfectly happy with the arrangement — her salary had doubled this month.

Jin Chengyu met another girl at the same restaurant, at the same table, head still lowered.

This young lady was better than Gu Qingqing in some ways, but she was very fake. Right from the start, she brought up the bride price.

Jin Chengyu thought that of course he would pay one, but there was no need to mention it on the first meeting. He wanted to leave but couldn’t find a polite excuse.

Meanwhile, Lin Wanting had bought another pile of things and was eating candied hawthorn. Gu Qingqing’s hands were full with shopping bags, but seeing her mistress happy made her happy too.

Suddenly, a man darted out from behind and snatched Gu Qingqing’s handbag.

“Stop that thief—!”

Hearing those words, Jin Chengyu instinctively rushed out of the restaurant.